USA Swimming 2008 Olympic Trials Schedule, TV Schedule, and Results

Qwest Center Omaha Hosts the USA Swimming 2008 Olympic Trials 29 June - 6 July

By Mat Luebbers, About.com Guide

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UPDATE:

Following the conclusion of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming in Omaha, Neb., USA Swimming named the complete roster for the 2008 U.S. Olympic swim team. In addition to the 43 athletes named to the team, the swim team's coaching staff was finalized.

The best swimmers in the USA will be at the Qwest Center in Omaha Nebraska, from 29 June through 6 July, trying to finish in the top two spots to qualify for the US team swimming at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The maximum Team size is 26 male and 26 female athletes.

The order of events for the 2008 USA Swimming Olympic Trials is the same as the event schedule that will be used at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. There is a difference, though - in Beijing the Preliminary sessions will begin at 6:30PM, the Finals at 10:00AM.

How Does the Olympic Swimming Trials Meet Work?

The meet is set-up like the Olympic Games swimming competition. Events that are 200 meters or shorter will have:

Preliminary (all swimmers) swim sessions
Semifinal (fastest 16 from preliminaries) swim sessions
Final (fastest 8 from semifinals) swim sessions

Events 400 meters and longer only have:

Preliminary (all swimmers) swim sessions
Final (fastest 8 from preliminaries) swim sessions

There are no relay events contested at the Olympic trials; swimmers qualify for relay spots based on their performances in individual events.

In the preliminaries, all of the qualified swimmers swim, trying to finish among the top 16 by time; those top 16 swimmers advance to the semi-finals. The last three heats of each preliminary event (the fastest 24 swimmers by entry time) will have swimmers in lanes using circle seeding, with the fastest swimmer placed in lane 4 of the last preliminary heat, then the second fastest swimmer placed in lane 4 of the second to last preliminary heat, then the third fastest swimmer placed in lane 4 of the third to last preliminary heat. The fourth fastest swimmer is placed in lane 5 of the fastest heat, the fifth fastest into lane 5 of the second to last heat, and the sixth fastest into lane 5 of the third to last heat. That same pattern of sorting the top 24 swimmers among the last three heats is followed until all of them are assigned lanes.

In the semifinals (fastest 16 swimmers from the preliminary heats), the swimmers are trying to get one of the 8 fastest times so they can advance to the finals. The swimmers are seeded with the fastest swimmer in lane 4 of the last heat, the second fastest swimmer in lane 4 of the first heat, the third fastest swimmer in lane 5 of the last heat, etc.

In finals, the swimmers aim to get that spot on the US Olympic Team. The top two swimmers will usually make the team (if they meet the Olympic Trials Qualifying time), with the top four swimmers making it on the team in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events, generally two for the individual events and two more as relay swimmers. Remember, the maximum Team size is 26 male and 26 female athletes. It is a little more complicated than that - the USA Swimming Athlete Selection Procedures for the 2008 Olympics is 31 pages long.